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PART I: General information

Name of Institution: California State University, Long Beach

Name of Unit: Department of Journalism & Mass Communication

Year of Visit: 2014

1. Check regional association by which the institution now is accredited. Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools New England Association of Schools and Colleges North Central Association of Colleges and Schools Northwest Association of Schools and Colleges Southern Association of Colleges and Schools _x_ Western Association of Schools and Colleges

2. Indicate the institution’s type of control; check more than one if necessary. Private _x_ Public Other (specify)

3. Provide assurance that the institution has legal authorization to provide education beyond the secondary level in your state. It is not necessary to include entire authorizing documents. Public institutions may cite legislative acts; private institutions may cite charters or other authorizing documents.

The California Assembly Bill No.8, Chapter 4, approved by the governor and filed with the secretary of state on Jan. 27, 1949 established California State University, Long Beach.

4. Has the journalism/mass communications unit been evaluated previously by the Accrediting Council on Education in Journalism and Mass Communications?

Yes _x No

5. When was the unit or sequences within the unit first accredited by ACEJMC? N/A

6. Attach a copy of the unit’s mission statement. Give date of adoption and/or last revision.

2 Mission Statement, Goals and Strategic Plan Department of Journalism and Mass

Communication California State University Long Beach Adopted 2009, Revised and Adopted October 10, 2012 Department of Journalism and Mass Communication Mission: The mission of the Department of Journalism and Mass Communication is to train students for careers in journalism, public relations and communication. To achieve our mission, the Department is committed to developing working journalists, public relations practitioners, and other communicators with a broad background in the liberal arts and sciences. Reporting, writing and editing skills are emphasized in all phases of the degree program. By graduating students who are prepared to compete on the national level for top-‐‑flight employment opportunities, we also best serve the communities of Southern California. The program has developed a core of skills and related theory that are focused into one major concentration, with several specializations that allow students to develop to their full potential.

Department of Journalism and Mass Communication Goals: • To ensure a liberal education for journalists, public relations practitioners and other mass

communicators. • To provide professional development, including training in skills techniques and

technologies necessary for effective communication. • To increase public understanding of journalism, public relations and mass

communications. • To advance knowledge through professional practice, research and publication. • To raise the quality of journalism, public relations and other mass communications through

critical examination and study. • To establish and maintain continuing relationships with journalists, public relations

practitioners and other professional mass communicators. Department of Journalism and Mass Communication Learning Outcomes: 1. Understand and apply principles of law of freedom of speech and press for the United States, as well as receive instruction in and understand the range of systems of expression around the world—including the right to dissent, to monitor and criticize power, and to assemble and petition for redress of grievances. 2. Demonstrate an understanding of the history and role of professionals and institutions in shaping communications. 3. Demonstrate an understanding of gender, race, ethnicity, sexual orientation and, as appropriate, other forms of diversity in the United States in relation to mass communications. 4. Demonstrate an understanding of the diversity of peoples and cultures and of the significance and impact of mass communications in a global society. 5. Understand concepts and apply theories in the use and presentation of images and information. 6. Work ethically in the pursuit of truth, accuracy, fairness and diversity. 7. Think critically, creatively and independently. 8. Conduct research and evaluate information by methods appropriate to the communications

3 profession in which they work.

9. Write correctly and clearly in forms and styles appropriate for the communications professions, audiences and purposes they serve. 10. Critically evaluate their own work and that of others for accuracy and fairness, clarity, appropriate style and grammatical correctness. 11. Apply basic numerical and statistical concepts. 12. Apply current tools and technologies appropriate for the communications professions in which they work, and to understand the digital world.

Short-‐‑ and Long-‐‑Term Goals for Department of Journalism and Mass Communication 2012-‐‑13 Academic Year – Updated 2009 Assessment Plan and refined outcomes, resulting in the current, comprehensive, cyclical Assessment Plan, including portfolio requirement for all majors, entrance-‐‑exit test to be taken in Journalism 311 and Journalism 478/495; survey of graduates from three previous calendar years and exit surveys of all graduates. Department requests permission from College of Liberal Arts to hire full-‐‑time lecturer with general background in journalism and multimedia abilities. 2013-‐‑14 Academic Year – Portfolio plan fully implemented, with exit assessments of portfolios in journalism and public relations capstones (spring 2014), other assessment continues. Faculty requests a new tenure-‐‑track hire in public relations for 2014-‐‑15 academic year. Department prepares accreditation report. Site team visits to review eligibility for disciplinary accreditation from ACEJMC. Department receives ACEJMC accreditation. 2014-‐‑15 Academic Year – Department moves to new offices and classrooms in Liberal Arts 4. Department requests permission to advertise for a new tenure-‐‑track faculty member in news-‐‑ editorial. 2015-‐‑16 Academic Year –Department forms committee to explore feasibility to establish a master’s degree program in mass communication.

7. What are the type and length of terms?

The university offers semesters of 16 weeks. It also offers intersessions of three weeks and summer sessions of six or 12 weeks; the department requires 12 weeks for the Summer Internship class.

8. Check the programs offered in journalism/mass communications:

_x_ Four-‐‑year program leading to Bachelor’s degree Graduate work leading to Master’s degree Graduate work leading to Ph.D. degree

9. Give the number of credit hours required by the university for graduation. Specify semester hour or quarter-‐‑hour credit.

The university requires 120 semester units/hours for graduation.

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10. Give the number of credit hours students may earn for internship experience. Specify semester-‐‑hour or quarter-‐‑hour credit.

The department allows students to earn three semester units/hours for an internship.

11. List each professional journalism or mass communications sequence or specialty offered and give the name of the person in charge.

Name of Sequence or Specialty Person in Charge Bachelor of Arts in Journalism & Mass Communication Chris Burnett Bachelor of Arts in Journalism & Mass Communication

(Specialization in Public Relations) Chris Burnett

Minor in Journalism & Mass Communication Chris Burnett 12. Number of full-‐‑time students enrolled in the institution: 35,586 13. Number of undergraduate majors in the unit, by sequence and total (if the unit has pre-‐‑ major students, list them as a single total):

Name of Sequence or Specialty Undergraduate Major in Journalism & Mass Communication 437 Minor in Journalism & Mass Communication 67 Total 504

14. Number of students in each section of all skills courses (newswriting, reporting, editing, photography, advertising copy, broadcast news, etc.). List enrollment by section for the term during which the visit will occur and the preceding term. Attach separate pages if necessary.

SPRING 2014

Course Section Credit Hours

Title Enrollme nt

J120 01-‐‑02 3 Writing Across the Media 20 J120 03-‐‑04 3 Writing Across the Media 14 J120 05-‐‑06 3 Writing Across the Media 19 J120 07-‐‑08 3 Writing Across the Media 20

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J300 01-‐‑02 3 Beginning Photojournalism 20 J305 01-‐‑02 3 Media Design 20 J305 03-‐‑04 3 Media Design 20 J310 01-‐‑02 3 Writing for the Daily 49er 17 J311 01-‐‑02 3 Reporting Information Gathering 20 J311 03-‐‑04 3 Reporting Information Gathering 19 J311 05-‐‑06 3 Reporting Information Gathering 13 J311 07-‐‑08 3 Reporting Information Gathering 19 J316 01-‐‑02 3 Feature Writing 19 J318 01-‐‑02 3 Intro to Sports Journalism 19 J321 01-‐‑02 3 Intro to Broadcast Writing 16 J331 01-‐‑02 3 Intro to News Editing 20 J340 01-‐‑02 3 Introduction to Online Media 20 J340 03-‐‑04 3 Introduction to Online Media 20 J340 05-‐‑06 3 Introduction to Online Media 20 J340 07-‐‑08 3 Introduction to Online Media 20 J374 01-‐‑02 3 Written Comm. Public Relations 20 J374 03-‐‑04 3 Written Comm Public Relations 20 J382 01-‐‑02 3 Radio News Productions 14 J422 01 1 Senior Media Production 7 J440 01-‐‑02 3 Advanced Online Media 20 J480 01-‐‑02 3 Magazine Production 19 J482 01-‐‑02 3 Television News Production 10

SPRING 2013 Course Section Credit

Hours + Enrollme

nt

J120 01-‐‑02 3 Writing Across the Media 20 J120 03-‐‑04 3 Writing Across the Media 20 J120 07-‐‑08 3 Writing Across the Media 19 J120 11-‐‑12 3 Writing Across the Media 20 J300 01-‐‑02 3 Beginning Photojournalism 19 J305 01-‐‑02 3 Media Design 20 J305 03-‐‑04 3 Media Design 21 J310 01-‐‑02 3 Writing for the Daily 49er 19 J311 01-‐‑02 3 Reporting Information Gathering 16 J311 05-‐‑06 3 Reporting Information Gathering 10 J311 07-‐‑08 3 Reporting Information Gathering 12

6

J311 09-‐‑10 3 Reporting Information Gathering 20 J311 11-‐‑12 3 Reporting Information Gathering 20 J318 01-‐‑02 3 Intro to Sports Journalism 20 J320 01-‐‑02 3 Advanced Reporting 20 J321 01-‐‑02 3 Intro to Broadcast Writing 20 J331 01-‐‑02 3 Intro to News Editing 18 J340 01-‐‑02 3 Introduction to Online Media 20 J340 03-‐‑04 3 Introduction to Online Media 20 J374 01-‐‑02 3 Written Comm. Public Relations 20 J422 01 1 Senior Media Production 13 J440 01-‐‑02 3 Advanced Online Media 20 J480 01-‐‑02 3 Magazine Production 20 J482 01-‐‑02 3 Television News Production 19 J498 01 3 Internship 20

FALL 2013 Course Section Credit

Hours Title Enrollme

nt

J120 01-‐‑02 3 Writing Across the Media 19 J120 03-‐‑04 3 Writing Across the Media 19 J120 05-‐‑06 3 Writing Across the Media 20 J120 07-‐‑08 3 Writing Across the Media 14 J300 01-‐‑02 3 Beginning Photojournalism 20 J305 01-‐‑02 3 Media Design 20 J305 03-‐‑04 3 Media Design 20 J310 01-‐‑02 3 Writing for the Daily 49er 17 J311 01-‐‑02 3 Reporting Information Gathering 20 J311 03-‐‑04 3 Reporting Information Gathering 20 J311 05-‐‑06 3 Reporting Information Gathering 19 J311 09-‐‑10 3 Reporting Information Gathering 20 J311 11-‐‑12 3 Reporting Information Gathering 20 J316 01-‐‑02 3 Feature Writing 17 J318 01-‐‑02 3 Intro to Sports Journalism 16 J320 01-‐‑02 3 Advanced Reporting 13

7 J321 01-‐‑02 3 Intro to Broadcast Writing 12

J321 03-‐‑04 3 Intro to Broadcast Writing 18 J340 01-‐‑02 3 Introduction to Online Media 20 J340 03-‐‑04 3 Introduction to Online Media 19 J340 05-‐‑06 3 Introduction to Online Media 20

J374 01-‐‑02 3 Written Comm. Public Relations 19 J374 03-‐‑04 3 Written Comm. Public Relations 19 J405 01-‐‑02 3 Advanced Media Design 12 J422 01 1 Senior Media Production 13 J471 01-‐‑02 3 Public Relations Management

and Campaigns 14

J478 01 3 Public Relations Case Studies 20 J480 01-‐‑02 3 Magazine Production 16

15. Total expenditures planned by the unit for the 2013 – 2014 academic year: $396,115 Percentage increase or decrease in three years: 1.73 percent decrease Amount expected to be spent this year on full-‐‑time faculty salaries: $724,856

16. List name and rank of all full-‐‑time faculty. (Full-‐‑time faculty refers to those defined as such by the university.) Identify those not teaching because of leaves, sabbaticals, etc.

Name Rank Chris Burnett Professor Emma Daugherty Professor Jennifer Fleming Associate Professor Heloiza Herscovitz Associate Professor Chris Karadjov Associate Professor Danny Paskin Assistant Professor Gwen Shaffer Assistant Professor John Shrader Assistant Professor Barbara Kingsley-‐‑Wilson Full-‐‑time Lecturer Gary Metzker Full-‐‑time Lecturer Carla Yarbrough Full-‐‑time Lecturer

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17. List names of part-‐‑time/adjunct faculty teaching at least one course in fall 2013. Also list names of part-‐‑time faculty teaching spring 2013. (If your school has its accreditation visit in spring 2014, please provide the updated list of faculty at time of visit.)

Spring 2014 Lee Brown Holly Ferris Todd Hennerman Robin Jones Peter Larsen Suzanne Mapes

Jolyn Matsumuro Ron Milligan Joni Ramirez Tyler Reeb Nick Roman

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Spring 2013 Fall 2013 Holly Ferris Lee Brown Judy Frutig Leslie Bryant Robin Jones Holly Ferris Peter Larsen Todd Henneman Suzanne Mapes Robin Jones Ron Milligan Peter Larsen Michael Park Suzanne Mapes Joni Ramirez Jolyn Matsumuro Tyler Reeb Ron Milligan Nick Roman Joni Ramirez Barbara Sullivan Tyler Reeb

Nick Roman Barbara Sullivan

18. Schools on the semester system: For each of the last two academic years, please give the number and percentage of graduates who earned 80 or more semester hours outside the major and 65 or more semester hours in liberal arts and sciences.

65 or more

80 or more semester semester hours in hours outside the major liberal arts/sciences

Year

Total Graduates

Number

Percent

Number

Percent

2012-‐‑2013 academic year

104

104

100%

N/A

N/A

2011-‐‑2012 academic year

97

97

100%

N/A

N/A

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PART II — Standard 1: Mission, Governance and Administration

The policies and practices of the unit ensure that it has an effectively and fairly administered working and learning environment. Unit performance with regard to indicators:

(a) The unit has a written mission statement and a written strategic or long-‐‑range plan that provides vision and direction for its future, identifies needs and resources for its mission and goals and is supported by university administration outside the unit.

California State University, Long Beach (CSULB) opened in 1949 as Long Beach State College. That fall, the first issue of the campus newspaper, the Forty-‐‑Niner, was produced on a single mimeographed sheet. The following year, the College offered its first journalism class in the Department of English. By 1962, there were 12 journalism course offerings. Four years later, the Department of Journalism was established and the Forty-‐‑Niner was transferred from student government to the Department of Journalism. Originally launched with a single emphasis, News Editorial, the Department added a journalism teaching specialization the following year. A Public Relations sequence was started in 1973. Four years later, Broadcast Journalism and Magazine sequences were added. The Department’s News Editorial sequence was accredited by ACEJMC in 1978 and in 1984 was reaccredited after a successful appeal. The full program, with six sequences, was reaccredited in 1991 but was denied reaccreditation in 1997, with the site team finding the unit in non-‐‑compliance on five standards (Governance, Budget, Faculty, Scholarship and Public Service). This is unit’s first request for ACEJMC accreditation since then.

Today the Department of Journalism & Mass Communication (renamed in 2010) is one of 20 departments within the College of Liberal Arts, which is by far the University’s largest college with 40 percent of CSULB’s 36,000 students. Primarily a commuter school, most of the unit’s students are from Los Angeles and Orange counties, and about half enter the program after attending community college for two years. A major curriculum redesign in 2003 that stressed convergence led to the Department offering a single 120-‐‑credit Bachelor of Arts in Journalism, along with a specialization in Public Relations. There are no graduate programs.

The Department has a mission statement and strategic plan. It revises both each fall. The unit’s mission is to prepare students for careers in journalism, public relations and other communications fields, providing both a broad based liberal arts education along with reporting, writing and editing skills. The Department’s short-‐‑term goals focus on the full implementation of its assessment plan and securing ACEJMC accreditation. The Department’s long-‐‑term plans include the exploration of a master’s degree program.

Journalism & Mass Communication suffered dramatic enrollment declines during the economic

11 downturn. Majors decreased 38 percent in a three-‐‑year span, from 580 in FY07-‐‑08 to 362 in

FY10-‐‑11. The Department attributes the drop to an overall University enrollment decline triggered by state budget cuts. However, CSULB enrollment dropped less than 10 percent during that same period. The Provost said only Education had a similar enrollment decrease, which he attributed to the job market in that discipline. No further explanation was offered for the dramatic decline in Journalism & Mass Communication. Enrollment in the Department has been increasing steadily over the past three years, but is still down significantly from the post-‐‑ recession enrollment (437 Journalism majors in FY13-‐‑14). Nevertheless, the Department has been able to retain its funding, which has remained largely flat over the past six years. The Department hopes its planned new home in a more central part of the campus will increase enrollment. The Dean described the Department as an “up and coming” program. He anticipated modest enrollment growth in future years, and said he expected to add a new faculty line in each of the next two years. The Provost said Journalism should be a strength of the University, taking advantage of its proximity to the major media market of Los Angeles. Both the Dean and Provost were highly supportive of the Department’s quest for accreditation, with the Provost noting that Journalism is just one of two programs at CSULB that has a discipline that can be accredited but is not.

(b) The unit has policies and procedures for substantive faculty governance that ensure faculty oversight of educational policy and curriculum.

The Department does not have its own policy manual or bylaws, relying instead on the university’s Faculty Handbook, Collective Bargaining Agreement and Course Development Process. The faculty met three times a semester during the last academic year, held a faculty/staff retreat prior to the start of the academic year and met with representatives of ACEJMC in preparation for the accreditation process. There are three standing faculty committees: Retention, Promotion and Tenure; Curriculum; and Assessment. Each full-‐‑time faculty member is required to serve on at least one of the committees. In addition, there is an ad hoc committee for external relations, which assists the Chair in coordinating events with community college and high school journalism programs, and one for accreditation. Committee chairs are appointed by the Department Chair. Two faculty members also serve on the College’s Faculty Council.

(c) The unit’s administration provides effective leadership within the unit and effectively represents it in dealings with university administration outside the unit and constituencies external to the university.

The Department is led by the Chair, who reports to the Dean of the College of Liberal Arts. The Chair is in the third year of his first three-‐‑year term. The Chair, who joined the Department 12 years ago, was widely praised by faculty, University colleagues, media professionals, alumni and the Dean for his strong, steady leadership. Most described the Department as lacking in leadership before his tenure. They attributed the Department’s recent progress and improved culture and collegiality to his leadership. The Dean said the Chair’s

12 appointment was the “turning point” for a program that a decade earlier was struggling. The

Chair also is widely credited with championing the push towards ACEJMC accreditation. The Department has a lean three-‐‑person administrative team, which includes two administrative support staff and a technology coordinator. Advising, internships, career placement, professional development, recruitment and other administrative duties are shared by faculty.

(d) The institution and/or the unit defines and uses a process for selecting and evaluating its administrators.

The Department Chair is appointed for a three-‐‑year term and may be reappointed for a second three-‐‑year term. The Dean of the College of Liberal Arts makes the appointment, selecting from candidates who appear on a majority of ballots cast by the Department faculty. The University created a new policy in 2011 for the appointment and review of department chairs,

but the four-‐‑page document only includes procedures on the appointment and removal processes. There are no review procedures listed. The Department noted that review of the Chair is “an informal one, guided by regular feedback from the Dean of the College of Liberal Arts.”

(e) Faculty, staff and students have avenues to express concerns and have them addressed.

The Department did not list a formal process for reviewing and resolving complaints by faculty, staff or students, noting that the Chair maintains an “open-‐‑door policy” for complaints or concerns. Students are encouraged to contact the Chair. Personnel and hiring issues can be brought to one of the associate deans in the College of Liberal Arts. Formal student grade appeals are evaluated by ad hoc grade appeal committees that are formed for each case. The Chair and two faculty members serve on these committees. The decision of the Department’s grade committee can be appealed to committees at both the College and University levels. The University Ombuds Office also is available for informal conflict resolution, but it does not address formal complaints.

COMPLIANCE

PART II — Standard 2: Curriculum and Instruction The unit provides curriculum and instruction, whether on site or online, that enable students to learn the knowledge, competencies and values the Council defines for preparing students to work in a diverse global and domestic society.

Indicators: (a) The unit requires that students take a minimum of 80 semester credit hours or 116 quarter credit hours outside of the unit and a minimum of 65 semester credit hours or 94 quarter credit hours in the liberal arts and sciences (as defined by the institution) outside of journalism and mass communications. Or, ACEJMC expects at least 95 percent of the graduating classes in the two academic years preceding an accreditation visit to meet this requirement. (a) Revised: The unit requires that students take a minimum of 72 semester credit hours (or 104 quarter credit hours) required for a baccalaureate degree outside of journalism and mass communications and meet the liberal arts and sciences-‐‑general education requirements of the institution. ACEJMC expects at least 95 percent of the graduating classes in the two academic years preceding an accreditation visit to meet these requirements. Though the self-‐‑study indicated 100 percent compliance with the requirement to take a minimum of 80 hours outside of journalism and mass communications, the Department does not have a mechanism for tracking the number of journalism semester credit hours (or units) each student takes. Though a random selection of student transcripts found none with fewer than 72 semester credit hours outside the major, neither the Department, nor the University has a system for flagging students who fail to take the required number. (b) The unit provides a balance between theoretical and conceptual courses and professional skills courses to achieve the range of student competencies listed by the Council.

The Department has a single degree: journalism; however, students are able to add a public relations specialization.

The Department requires all students to take six basic courses, including a one-‐‑credit course

called English for Media Writers, which provides a review of grammar, usage and other writing fundamentals. In addition, students must take Introduction to Mass Communications, Law of Mass Communications and Mass Media Ethics, which help provide a balance between theoretical and conceptual courses and the skills courses. All majors must take 6 credits in writing across media and reporting and information gathering, and for those enrolling in the fall of 2011 or later, an internship is now required. Most of the students who met with the site team reported having had one or more internships.

For those not seeking a PR specialization, a course in online media is required, as well as a class called Senior Seminar. The seminar course was revised in fall 2013 to become a capstone in which students rely on journalism skills they’ve learned in other classes to create multimedia projects. Journalism students also take 18 credits of electives.

Eleven full-‐‑time and 11 part-‐‑time faculty members teach journalism courses. Of the full-‐‑time faculty, two are full professors, three are associate professors, three are assistant professors and three are instructors/lecturers.

They teach an array of courses that provide exposure to print, broadcast, visual and online journalism. All students have a solid range of skills courses available to them; however, the Department does not require students to declare a specialty, and as such, they give students a lot of leeway to design their own programs and pick and choose electives. In student meetings with the site teams, some students suggested that the flexibility led to a lack of “synthesis” of skills within the program, but others appreciated the fact that the less prescriptive approach allowed them to “keep progressing” toward graduation, an important consideration for the Department and the University.

The course syllabi reflect the teaching of basic writing and some multimedia skills in the core curriculum. What’s less well-‐‑defined is where students get more advanced technical skills leading up to the Senior Seminar, especially video skills. Because of the flexibility built into the degree, it would be possible for students to have very limited video instruction, and in fact, students who met with the site team suggested that video and audio courses should become a requirement. Results of the spring 2013 assessment of the Senior Seminar support the need for improved technical skills in video, audio and photography.

Public Relations Specialization

Of the students who have declared majors, 92 (21 percent) have chosen to specialize in Public Relations. One professor heads the public relations specialization supported by three adjunct lecturers. The professor involved in professional public relations practice has had extensive professional experience prior to completing her doctorate, and the understanding of the practical aspects of public relations in the sequence is appreciated by students. Students feel

they have the skills they need to enter the workforce and they are able to be productive when on internships.

Students who major in journalism with a Public Relations specialization take the six required core classes, four required public relations classes and three electives, as well as completing an internship.

The PR-‐‑related required classes are JOUR 370 -‐‑ Principles of Public Relations, JOUR 374 -‐‑ Written Communication for Public Relations, JOUR 471 -‐‑ Public Relations Management and Campaigns and JOUR 478 -‐‑ Public Relations Case Studies. From a number of courses available as electives three are recommended or highly recommended for these students, JOUR -‐‑ 305 Media Design, JOUR -‐‑ 440 Advanced Online Media, and JOUR 494 -‐‑ Research Methods in Mass Communications.

Students reported that they appreciated the emphasis on professional skills provided by faculty, and in particular the significant experience gained working on real life case studies.

The PR curriculum appeared more than adequate for preparing students for the profession and those who take all the recommended electives appear to receive a solid foundation in the discipline, including many of the aspects of online and social media. Professionals who met with the site team indicated they found PR interns ready for the tasks assigned and students themselves were both enthusiastic about and confident in their skills as they prepared to graduate. The curriculum was a little light on public relations theory, but students did seem to have exposure to research methods and other relevant concepts. One student described the PR curriculum as very “hands on.” Other students meeting with the site team suggested that journalism students be more consistently encouraged to take PR classes to learn about personal branding and marketing their work.

Faculty vita throughout the Department show a strong blend of professional and teaching experience. A random review of syllabi and faculty class assignments suggested a strong correlation between faculty research and professional experience and course assignments. Students reported appreciation of working with teachers with solid experience and made a point to say that faculty are both effective in the classroom and available and supportive after class.

c) Instruction, whether onsite or online, is demanding and current; and is responsive to professional expectations of digital, technological and multimedia competencies. Achievements in teaching and learning are recognized and valued.

Both the Department and the University offer programs to support excellent teaching. At the University level, the Faculty Center for Professional Development provides summer and winter institutes on teaching and learning. Two Department faculty members serve on the advisory board of the Center.

Students formally evaluate their professors’ teaching effectiveness in every class, every semester. Tenure-‐‑track faculty receive feedback on their teaching once a year during annual reviews, and at other points in the University’s Retention, Tenure and Promotion (RTP) process. Additionally, the College supports opportunities for faculty members to attend professional development programs, both locally and nationally.

One local media professional praised the faculty for their preparation of students, indicating that the Department’s graduates were competing successfully for jobs with students from Northwestern University, the University of Southern California and the University of Missouri. Several industry representatives were concerned about the depth of multimedia skills for some of the students they encountered.

Students who met with the site team also mentioned a desire to learn more about entrepreneurship and the business of journalism – from understanding how to freelance to gaining a better understanding of the role of marketing and branding in today’s communications industry.

Faculty within the Department have been recognized for their teaching, winning awards such as the California Journalism Education Coalitions 2012/13 Journalism Educator of the Year and the University’s Distinguished Teacher award.

In the site team’s conversation with the interim Provost, it was indicated that the University is in the process of ramping up its development of online and blended learning courses and that “journalism should be part of that effort.” The Department has developed and taught at least two online courses. (d) Student-‐‑faculty classroom ratios facilitate effective teaching and learning in all courses; a student-‐‑teacher ratio of 20-‐‑1 in skills and laboratory sections is strongly recommended and the ratio in each section should not exceed 20-‐‑1.

The Department is in full compliance with the student/faculty classroom ratio rule.

(e) The unit advocates and encourages opportunities for internship and other professional experiences outside the classroom and supervises and evaluates them when it awards academic credit.

Schools may award academic credit for internships in fields related to journalism and mass communications, but credit should not exceed one semester course (or its equivalent) if the internship is away from the institution, and, for the most part, supervised by media professionals rather than academics.

Students may take up to two semester courses (or their equivalent) at an appropriate professional organization where the unit can show ongoing and extensive dual supervision by the unit’s faculty and professionals. Students may take up to three semester courses (or their equivalent) at a professional media outlet owned and operated by the institution where full-‐‑ time faculty are in charge and where the primary function of the media outlet is to instruct students.

(e) Revised: The unit advocates and encourages opportunities for internship and other professional experiences outside the classroom and supervises and evaluates them when it awards academic credit. Schools may award academic credit for internships in fields related to journalism and mass communications, but credit should not exceed six semester credits (or nine quarter credit hours).

Students may take up to two semester courses (or their quarter equivalent) at an appropriate professional organization where the unit can show ongoing and extensive dual supervision by the unit'ʹs faculty and professionals. Students may take up to three semester courses (or their quarter equivalent) at a professional media outlet owned and operated by the institution where full-‐‑time faculty are in charge and where the primary function of the media outlet is to instruct students.

The Department has an internship program that requires students to attend a workshop outlining rules and requirements prior to taking the internship class. Students may take up to six internship credits, which allows them to have up to two internship experiences for credit. The program is structured and well organized. Students who complete internships have to have completed certain courses first. Faculty are assigned to oversee the internship class and are responsible for communicating with the internship site supervisors and are encouraged to visit internship locations when possible.

Students are required to post updates and answer relevant questions posed by the instructor on the course website; they also submit three progress reports, including exhibits of materials they’ve produced. Each student makes an oral presentation at the end of the internship and submits a time log signed by the site supervisor.

Students who have completed internships had positive experiences. One journalism professional from a major local media group who met with the site team said that his organization took on only one intern this semester from hundreds of applicants and that intern came from Cal State Long Beach.

PR students reported that they appreciated the internships course, and in particular the

personal advice they received during the internship. While they felt their skills prepared them well for the internships, the tasks they were assigned were challenging and substantive. In many cases, given that the internship comes in the senior year, the internship can lead to an employment offer. The accreditation team spoke to several professionals who have provided public relations internships and all were highly complimentary of the level of skills and maturity exhibited by the interns, as well as the very professional way in which the Department organizes the internship program.

Summary: The Department’s program offers a great deal of flexibility, which many students value highly but that may allow students to graduate without a strong multimedia foundation. The curriculum is structured to provide courses that allow students to acquire valuable skills for today’s varied media environment; however, the level of expertise students develop is effectively left up to them. Like many communication schools, the Department is struggling with the delivery of the appropriate amount of digital and multimedia offerings across the curriculum.

COMPLIANCE

PART II — Standard 3: Diversity and Inclusiveness The unit has an inclusive program that values domestic and global diversity, and serves and reflects society.

Unit performance with regard to indicator. (a)The unit has a written plan for achieving an inclusive curriculum, a diverse faculty and student population, and a supportive climate for working and learning and for assessing progress toward achievement of the plan.

The Department’s definition of diversity and inclusiveness is a broad one: – “We foster an understanding of issues and perspectives relating to mass communications across diverse cultures in a global society, which are inclusive of domestic and global concerns about gender, race, ethnicity, religion, socioeconomic status, sexual orientation, and physicality. The values we associate with diversity include mutual understanding, tolerance, respect, fairness, and equality.”

The Department has a written diversity plan, which was adopted in March and revised in September, 2013. The plan details challenges and opportunities faced by the University as a whole, with particular reference to the Department. The plan outlines specific goals and strategies in relation to ensuring a diverse faculty and student population in the Department, in particular as it reflects the diversity of the surrounding region, as well as a curriculum that appropriately acknowledges diversity.

(b)The unit’s curriculum fosters understanding of issues and perspectives that are inclusive in terms of gender, race, ethnicity and sexual orientation, including instruction in issues and perspectives in a range of diverse cultures in a global society in relation to mass communications.

The self-‐‑study acknowledges that despite making good progress in recent years the Department needs to do more to integrate content dealing with minorities into the curriculum. Course assignments in classes across the Department require students to use examples from diverse cultures/ethnicities, and the self-‐‑study reports that the Department chair ensures that diversity related assignments are included in each class syllabus. The assessment criteria included in the curricula requires students to demonstrate an understanding of gender, race, ethnicity, sexual orientation and other forms of diversity in relation to mass communications.

There is some reference to diversity issues in the curriculum as a whole, in particular in JOUR 110 (Introduction to Mass Communications) and JOUR 431 (Mass Media Ethics), both mandatory requirement for students majoring in journalism and public relations. Two courses, JOUR 415 (Minorities and the Media) and JOUR 418 (Media History), which concentrate primarily on domestic diversity in the United States, are offered on alternating

semesters. JOUR 405 (Senior Seminar), a required class for journalism students, ensures students produce stories on ethnically diverse areas of Long Beach. The Department has entered into a relationship with a locally based NGO that encourages coverage of under reported neighborhoods.

Course assignments in classes across the Department require students to use examples from diverse cultures/ethnicities, and the self-‐‑study reports that the Department chair ensures that diversity related assignments are included in each class syllabus. Every class in the curriculum stresses the need to include minority voices in the journalistic work. In addition, all students at the University have to take three units of “Human Diversity” courses.

Where possible, the Department hosts events featuring guest speakers from diverse backgrounds, and faculty are encouraged to reach out to minority communities in selecting guest speakers for their classes. The self-‐‑study provided considerable detail showing this approach in action during the last two years.

Generally speaking both faculty and students reported that they felt the department supported diversity initiatives and was respectful of ethnic, gender and cultural differences.

(c)The unit demonstrates effective efforts to recruit women and minority faculty and professional staff and provides an environment that supports their retention, progress and success.

Eleven of the current faculty members are women (six full-‐‑time and five part-‐‑time) and eleven of the faculty members are men (five full-‐‑time and six part-‐‑time). The faculty has one African-‐‑American “full time equivalent” faculty member who was hired during the last academic year. There are two full-‐‑ time faculty members from Brazil and one part-‐‑time Asian/Pacific Islander faculty member. During the 2011/12 academic year one of the two tenure-‐‑track faculty members added to the Department was a woman. Interviews with faculty indicate that they believe the Department supports the progress of minority and female faculty members toward tenure and promotion. In order to fill faculty or staff openings when they occur, the Department reports that it actively seeks to recruit women and minorities, and advertises widely on a variety of ethnically and culturally diverse channels.

The self-‐‑study stated goal in relation to ensuring a diverse faculty is to meet the proportions of “women, Hispanics/Latinos, Black/African Americans, Asian/Pacific Islanders, Native Americans, gays/lesbians and the physically challenged in the country’s newsrooms. “ The Department uses annual newsroom census data collected by the American Society of News Editors to assess its progress towards this goal. Based on this particular criteria, the diversity of the Department meets or exceeds diversity proportions in the newsrooms.

However, compared to more demanding criteria that could have been used and that may be more relevant the Department has not been as successful. For example the Department’s Caucasian representation amongst full time faculty is 73 percent compared to the University’s 64 percent overall, while the Caucasian representation amongst part time faculty is 86 percent. The Department is underrepresented amongst Asian Americans/Pacific Islanders with no full

time representation compared to the University’s 20 percent overall. In addition, the student population at the Department is significantly more multiracial than faculty, and reflects the diversity make-‐‑up of the Long Beach area as a whole.

In discussions with the Department it became apparent that the protection offered to adjuncts as a result of the University’s collective bargaining agreement may be something of a barrier to more rapidly recruiting a more diverse part-‐‑time faculty. However the site team felt that a more assertive policy towards recruitment of diverse candidates is possible and would be beneficial.

(d)The unit demonstrates effective efforts to help recruit and retain a student population reflecting the diversity of the population eligible to enroll in institutions of higher education in the region or population it serves, with special attention to recruiting under-‐‑represented groups

The self-‐‑study describes efforts to recruit and retain a diverse student population. The student body is diverse, reflecting the Long Beach area and more generally Southern California. The journalism undergraduate population in 2012 was 38 percent Hispanic/Latino, 29 percent white, 12 percent Asian, 6 percent Black/African-‐‑American, 3 percent International, and 12 percent other. The Department’s student makeup is an accurate reflection of the general ethnicity ratios in the Long Beach area. Students reported that they felt the Department is sufficiently diverse and that diversity is strongly supported by the faculty.

Faculty members regularly attend local and regional community college and high school conferences to give presentations or judge writing contests and try to encourage minority students to attend Cal State Long Beach. The Department also hosts competitions and workshops, one of which is specifically targeted to Long Beach high schools, as Long Beach is a prime source for the university’s students. One faculty member is designated to lead the Department’s efforts to reach out to local high schools and community colleges. Four of the Department’s tenured or tenure-‐‑track faculty participate in the university’s Partners for Success mentoring program, which targets minority students and those on academic probation. The Department initiated the reformation of a student chapter of the National Association of Hispanic Journalists some three months before the accrediting team visit. Students participating in the chapter reported that it is very active and they appreciate the faculty support.

The six year graduation rates for the Department for the past five years shows average graduation rates across the Department to be similar for all ethnicities.

(e)The unit has a climate that is free of harassment and discrimination, in keeping with the acceptable cultural practices of the population it serves, accommodates the needs of those with disabilities, and values the contributions of all forms of diversity.

The Department has two physically disabled faculty members and works closely with the University Office of Equity and Diversity to try to ensure that the office and classroom accommodation needs of these faculty members are met appropriately. The faculty members concerned were very complimentary about the Department’s efforts to accommodate their needs, including having been provided with specialized equipment.

Faculty and student interviews verify that the environment in the Department is accommodating and open for students and faculty and that the environment across the University in regard to all forms of diversity is positive.

COMPLIANCE

PART II — Standard 4: Full-‐‑Time and Part-‐‑Time Faculty The unit hires, supports and evaluates a capable faculty with a balance of academic and professional credentials appropriate for the unit’s mission.

Unit performance with regard to indicators:

(a) The unit has written criteria for selecting and evaluating the performance of all full-‐‑time and part-‐‑time faculty and instructional staff

Hiring of new faculty follows processes prescribed by the University. Once a tenured/tenure-‐‑ track position description is approved and published widely, a Department search committee, typically composed of three tenured/tenure-‐‑track faculty members, is elected by tenured faculty members. After the pool of candidates is approved by the campus Office of Equity and Diversity, the committee reviews resumes and selects three finalists to visit the campus. The Department Chair or Search Committee Chair subsequently asks faculty for informal feedback on each candidate; however, the final decision as to who to recommend to the Dean rests with the search committee. The Dean is then charged with completing negotiations with the confirmed candidate. The selection of full-‐‑ or part-‐‑time lecturer positions is the responsibility of the Department Chair, who reviews resumes, checks credentials and interviews applicants.

Performance evaluations conducted in the unit adhere to University policy and the Collective Bargaining Agreement between the California Faculty Association and the California State University system. Lecturers who are appointed for two or more semesters must be given a formal written evaluation focusing primarily on teaching performance. Lecturers appointed for one semester may be evaluated at the discretion of the Department Chair or Dean or upon request of the lecturer. Lecturers holding three-‐‑year appointments must be evaluated once during the three-‐‑year term by a peer committee and may be evaluated more frequently upon request of the appropriate administrator or the lecturer. Lecturer evaluations include a standard form provided by the University’s Office of Faculty Affairs requiring an overall rating of satisfactory or unsatisfactory.

Tenured faculty are subject to the University’s retention, tenure and promotion (RTP) policies, which assess teaching, research and scholarly activity at regular intervals depending on the term of tenure. The RTP policies also assess service and engagement at the University and to the community and profession.

For both full-‐‑time and part-‐‑time faculty, the Department relies heavily in the assessment of instruction on course evaluation summaries from Student Perception of Teaching (SPOT) surveys that students complete at the end of a course. The questions used by the University focus on teaching behaviors that are directly observable by students. Most of the SPOT items fall under the category of “required duties” that faculty members must carry out as a part of their teaching assignments. The nine closed-‐‑ended questions are reported on a six-‐‑point scale,

and the mean ranking for both Department and College falls between 5 and 6 for all questions. All instructors – no matter their rank or length of service – are expected to have a mean consistently above 5. Particular attention in the evaluation of teaching is paid to whether students believe that the instructor was effective at teaching the course subject matter.

(b)Full-‐‑time faculty have primary responsibility for teaching, research/creative activity and service.

The Department currently has two full professors, three associate professors and three assistant professors. Additionally, there are two full time lecturers and one “full time equivalent” lecturer.

The majority of classes in the Department are taught by full-‐‑time faculty. In the 2012/13 school year, it was 74 percent; in the 2011/12 school year, 68 percent, and in the 2010/11 school year, 65 percent. Typical faculty teaching workloads are four courses per semester. However, there are programs that provide relief from teaching for scholarship and other duties. New faculty automatically receive one course release each semester during their first three years at CSULB, while all other release time for scholarly and creative activities is subject to College and/or University peer review competitions.

Expectations of faculty members in teaching, research, creative and professional activity and service are spelled out in the RTP policies at Department, College and University levels.

(c)Credentials of the unit’s faculty represent a balance of professional and scholarly experience and expertise kept current through faculty development opportunities, relationships with professional and scholarly associations, and appropriate supplementation of part-‐‑time and visiting faculty.

There are eight tenured/tenure-‐‑track faculty in the Department in addition to three full-‐‑time lecturers and 11 part-‐‑time adjunct instructors. All but one of the eight tenured/tenure-‐‑ track faculty holds a Ph.D. In the past three years, two faculty members have been granted tenure and promoted to associate professor, and another has been promoted to professor. In 2011/12, two new assistant professors joined the Department. Around the same time, one professor retired and another professor resigned to accept a Dean’s position at a Florida University.

Full time faculty have a good mix of professional and academic backgrounds and maintain relationships with appropriate scholarly and professional organizations such as AEJMC, the International Communications Association, the Public Relations Society of America and the Society of Professional Journalists.

Faculty attend a variety of internal and external development opportunities including classes run by the Poynter Institute, Dow Jones Multimedia Training Academy and the University.

Faculty do attend external conferences but have a very limited travel budget.

(d)The unit regularly evaluates instruction, using multiple measures that include student input.

As detailed above, the Department requires all full-‐‑time faculty members to be evaluated by students for their teaching for every class every semester. The instruments include both closed-‐‑ and open-‐‑ended measures that allow students the opportunity to express their opinions of their teachers.

(e)The faculty has respect on campus for its University citizenship and the quality of education that the unit provides. The Provost and the Dean of the College confirmed that the Department’s faculty participate on University committees. Several faculty members serve on governance committees related to the operation of the College of Liberal Arts. All full-‐‑time faculty members participate on at least one departmental committee.

Faculty from other Departments offered praise for the work of the Department and the dedication and quality of the Department faculty. Those interviewed by the site team complimented faculty, and the Chair in particular, in bringing a much needed sense of stability and direction to the Department.

COMPLIANCE

PART II — Standard 5: Scholarship: Research, Creative and Professional Activity With unit support, faculty members contribute to the advancement of scholarly and professional knowledge and engage in scholarship (research, creative and professional activity) that contributes to their development.


(a)The unit requires, supports and rewards faculty research, creative activity and/or professional activity.

The Department supports a wide range of research and creative activities. For example, since 2010, four of the 11 full-‐‑time faculty members have been granted sabbaticals or leaves to aid in their research. The Department is typically able to provide travel support to academic and professional conferences of $600 to $800 per trip; there is a dedicated University librarian to assist faculty with their research needs; and the tenured and tenure-‐‑track faculty have the opportunity to apply for release time to pursue research interests. However, faculty indicate it has become more difficult to get release time because of budget considerations across the University. In the site team’s meeting with the Dean, he said that the College is not as well funded as others on campus, although he expects to see improvements in that area.

Faculty generally feel supported in their research efforts. Several mentioned the one-‐‑course release granted to all tenure-‐‑track faculty in their first three years in the Department. At least one faculty hire was encouraged to pursue a doctorate as part of the Department’s commitment to furthering its research mission.

(b)The unit specifies expectations for research, creative activity and/or professional activity in criteria for hiring, promotion and tenure.

The College of Liberal Arts, which houses the Department, requires “high-‐‑quality, peer-‐‑ reviewed research, scholarly and creative activities of all of its faculty members.” The Department’s Retention, Tenure and Promotion (RTP) document allows faculty to choose to focus the bulk of their efforts on either academic research or creative activities; however all tenure-‐‑track faculty are expected to do some academic publishing. The performance expectations for both traditional scholarship and creative activity are outlined in the RTP documents. At least one tenure-‐‑track faculty member indicated that there is some lack of clarity on how the College RTP committee will weigh creative and professional activity against more traditional forms of scholarship. However, that faculty member indicated feeling confident that the Department’s RTP Committee was “on top of it.”

(c)Evaluation criteria for promotion, tenure and merit recognition account for and acknowledge activities appropriate to faculty members’ professional as well as scholarly specializations. The Department revised its Retention, Tenure and Promotion document in 2010 to “advance new concepts related to scholarship.” The Department has stated that materials produced by faculty that are evaluated by newspaper editors, TV producers, campaign managers, etc., are to be considered peer-‐‑reviewed. However, the policy states that “non-‐‑academic publishing is not a substitute for scholarly publications.”

(d)Faculty members communicate the results of research, creative and/or professional activity to other scholars, educators and practitioners through presentations, productions, exhibitions, workshops and publications appropriate to the activity and to the mission of the unit and institution. Faculty members have authored or edited three books, eight book chapters, and 31 refereed articles; approximately 50 presentations at academic and professional conferences over the self-‐‑study period.

Some of the faculty’s scholarly research has been published in top journals, such as Public Relations Review, Journal of Mass Communications and Journalism and Journal of International Communication. Several faculty have won awards or received grants for their research.

Because the University and the Department requires scholarship to influence teaching, the faculty members have been focused on producing research and creative work they can incorporate into classes. Examples include the creation of textbook supplemental materials, journal articles on PR internships and PR professionals’ attitudes toward student preparedness, teaching news literacy and explorations of communications policy.

(e)The unit fosters a climate that supports intellectual curiosity, critical analysis and the expression of differing points of view.

The Department promotes a culture of inquiry and engagement through its course readings and assignments, as well as classroom discussions. Faculty research on topics such as gay-‐‑ marriage, global journalism, media ethics and digital user rights are important avenues for raising the profile of the Department.

COMPLIANCE

PART II — Standard 6: Student Services

The unit provides students with the support and services that promote learning and ensure timely completion of their program of study.


(a)Faculty and/or professional advising staff ensure that students are aware of unit and institutional requirements for graduation and receive career and academic advising.

Academic advising is mandatory during a student’s freshman year and is strongly recommended throughout the student’s college career. The Department’s “mixed” advising strategy provides students access to faculty and professional advisers at the Department, College and University levels. The system gives students numerous sources to learn about requirements and receive guidance on internships and careers. Community college and transfer students must enter through the Student Orientation Advising and Registration (SURE) program. For professional advice, students use the Career Development Center, which holds resume workshops, organizes career fairs and hosts a career resource library.

The Adviser Request System (ARS) is a digital tool that allows advisers to find student contact information, review a student’s academic progress and validate student courses. Students indicate satisfaction with the advisory system and do not experience problems comprehending or tracking their requirements for graduation.

(b)Faculty is available and accessible to students.

The Department of Journalism & Mass Communication faculty share both academic and career advising responsibility. At the Department level, advising is conducted in the fall and spring semesters by two faculty members. Each receives one course release to hold a minimum of five drop-‐‑in advising hours per week, as well as to respond to emails and telephone calls and to attend advising training sessions.

Students expressed satisfaction with the system. Two faculty advisers said the advising experience was beneficial to students and fulfilling for them. Students are encouraged to meet with their adviser each semester to review class schedules. In the semester prior to graduation, advisers are expected to meet with seniors to check graduation requirements. Academic requirement reports offer personalized, real time summaries of a student’s progress.

Students expressed satisfaction with the system, especially the accessibility and caliber of service provided by faculty advisers. One appreciated that responses to her “somewhat frequent” email inquiries were answered promptly.

(c)The unit keeps students informed about the activities, requirements and policies of the unit.

Students are generally pleased with the Department’s communication process, although some perceived gaps in understanding curriculum and policy changes adopted after their freshmen years. The Department’s website is updated regularly to include events, procedures and policies. PADNET, a Long Beach community television station, recently donated a video monitor for the Department’s lobby that displays news and information.

(d)The unit and the institution provide students with extra-‐‑curricular activities and opportunities that are relevant to the curriculum and develop their professional as well as intellectual abilities and interests. Students have the opportunity to work on a four-‐‑times-‐‑per-‐‑week campus newspaper, as well as two student-‐‑run broadcast media organizations and three college magazines. The Department sponsors student chapters of the Society of Professional Journalists, Public Relations Student Society of America, Kappa Tau Alpha honor society and a recently revived chapter of the National Association of Hispanic Journalists. Students must complete an internship prior to graduating, a requirement that was instituted in 2011. The Department keeps an extensive online list of internship opportunities. A faculty member administers the internship program. The annual Journalism Day, held late in the spring semester, is the Department’s signature event. It brings together as many as 400 CSULB journalism majors, media professionals and high school editors and advisers for a day of discussions on timely industry topics. In addition, student achievement awards are handed out on Journalism Day.

(e)The unit gathers, maintains and analyzes enrollment, retention, graduation rates and other aggregate information for improving student services and reducing barriers to student success. Clear and accurate data are published on the accredited unit’s website. The unit gathers, maintains and analyzes enrollment, retention and graduation rates. The information is posted online in PDF form. The Department also participates in the University of Georgia’s Annual Survey of Journalism & Mass Communication.

The self-‐‑assessment document highlights data that places the Department in a favorable light. For example, the Department says 76 percent of freshmen who started at CSULB in fall 2007 and had declared the journalism major by their junior year graduated within four years. In comparison, the four-‐‑year campus-‐‑wide graduation rate for the entire fall 2007 freshman cohort was 56 percent. Some 42 percent of students who transferred into the journalism program in fall 2008 finished their degrees within two years. Campus-‐‑wide the rate was 35 percent.

CSULB keeps no comprehensive records on alumni placement. The Journalism & Mass Communication Department uses LinkedIn to track self-‐‑reporting alumni career

achievements. This database, established in 2012, has connected more than 1,200 alumni.

Starting in 2011, the department began to focus more attention on alumni relations. In addition to the LinkedIn networking site, the Department has hosted a number of mixers in Southern California. It is attempting to build a viable alumni database.

SUMMARY: By its own admission, formal assessment of the advisory and counseling programs are difficult. That said, students and faculty members generally approve of the system. Students also indicate satisfaction with the mandatory internship experiences, including the enthusiastic support of the faculty internship coordinator. COMPLIANCE

33

PART II — Standard 7: Resources, Facilities and Equipment The unit plans for, seeks and receives adequate resources to fulfill and sustain its mission.


(a) The unit has a detailed annual budget for the allocation of its resources that is related to its long-‐‑range, strategic plan.

The Department’s budget is comprised overwhelming of faculty and staff salaries, making up nearly 98 percent of overall annual expenditures. The College provides about $25,000 each year for various operating and equipment expenses, and modest fund-‐‑raising efforts result in about $13,000 in scholarships each year. The College has indicated support for a Department request to add a 12th faculty member in 2014-‐‑15. The Dean told the site team he likely would approve funding for new faculty lines both next year and the year after to support the program.

(b) The resources that the institution provides are fair in relation to those provided other units.

The Department’s budget has remained remarkably stable over the past six years despite the economic downturn – which hit California particularly hard – and a significant loss of enrollment in Journalism. The $1.13 million budget in FY13-‐‑14 is just 0.7 percent less than the FY08-‐‑09 budget. The budget has remained steady through those years (with the exception of FY09-‐‑10, when the University imposed mandatory furloughs that reduced salaries that year by 10 percent). Compared to other units in the 20-‐‑department College of Liberal Arts, leaders in Journalism and Mass Communication believe their Department receives more support due to greater technological needs than most liberal arts departments and the ACEJMC-‐‑mandated requirement to have no more than 20 students in skills courses. Indeed, the Dean said while he hopes to improve Journalism’s 40-‐‑to-‐‑1 student-‐‑to-‐‑faculty ratio with the two new faculty hires over the next two years, some Liberal Arts departments have ratios of more than 100-‐‑to-‐‑1.

The Department’s budget stability was seen despite major enrollment losses. Majors dropped from 580 in 2007-‐‑08 down to 362 majors three years later – a 38 percent decline. Over the next three years, some of that enrollment returned, up this year to 437 majors. However, that still represents an overall six-‐‑year enrollment decline of 25 percent. The Department attributes the enrollment loss to the economic downturn, although University enrollment losses during the same three-‐‑year period were substantially less (9.6 percent). The Department believes next year’s move to a new home in a more central part of the campus will increase the unit’s profile and help boost enrollment.

The College has demonstrated the strategic importance of Journalism and Mass

34 Communication through its investment in a new home for the Department (see below),

insuring stable financial resources despite the economic downturn and enrollment losses, and the potential funding of two new faculty lines.

Journalism & Mass Communication relies almost exclusively on College funding for its resources. The Department has no development staff and does not have access to the University’s alumni database. The College has a Director of Development who leads a four-‐‑ person fund-‐‑raising team that raises about $2 million a year for the College and its 20 departments and seven programs. The Development Director, however, said he sees significant potential for fund-‐‑raising around journalism and has started working closely with the Chair. Historically, the Department raises about $13,000 a year for scholarships from annual contributions and some other in-‐‑kind resources. Recently the Department has started holding alumni mixers (two last year), maintains a LinkedIn account with more than 1,200 alumni and has established a professional advisory board with a focus on development.

(c) The facilities of the unit enable and promote effective scholarship, teaching and learning.

The Department had identified facilities as one of its most important needs. In response, the College is implementing a plan to move Journalism into renovated space no later than June 2015. The Department’s new home will be no bigger than what exists today – about 4,300 square feet – but nevertheless will be a major improvement in several important ways. The Department will be the sole occupant of the soon-‐‑to-‐‑be-‐‑renovated two-‐‑story Liberal Arts 4 Building. That stands in stark contrast to Journalism’s home for the past 43 years – the windowless, flood-‐‑susceptible basement of the Social Science Public Affairs Building, a space often referred to by students and faculty alike as “the dungeon.” Additionally, Liberal Arts 4 is located in a highly energized central part of the upper campus, giving the program more visibility and putting it closer to central services such as the University Library. The current subterranean home is on the eastern edge of the campus and receives little student foot traffic.

All of the classrooms, labs and offices in the new space will be fully renovated, and the Provost said the new Journalism home will have some of the best teaching technologies on the CSULB campus. The $6 million renovation project also includes air conditioning and heating systems throughout the building, new structural supports to make it earthquake proof, and windows in every room throughout the building. Student publications will have a suite of contiguous offices. There also will be a major landscape renovation in the grassy area adjacent to the building.

The new home, however, will come with some potential drawbacks. Access to classrooms and most offices in the wide, shallow building will be from the exterior. There are no hallways on either floor, and the second-‐‑floor faculty offices will have no connectivity to the first-‐‑floor classrooms. The current basement location, for all of its many problems, allows for regular, serendipitous interactions between and among students and faculty. The new home also will have no restrooms.

35 (d) The institution and the unit provide faculty and students with equipment or access to

equipment to support its curriculum and the research, creative and professional activities of the faculty.

Currently, the Department has three computer labs, two classrooms, a seminar room and an open digital editing room. A 23-‐‑computer iMac lab with large monitors is fully equipped with Adobe Creative Suite and is used for video-‐‑ and Web-‐‑centric courses. Two 25-‐‑computer PC labs are used for writing and reporting courses (one of those PC labs is shared with another department). An eight-‐‑computer iMac room, which is open access for students engaging in digital editing, also has a makeshift green screen. The labs are open 9 a.m. to 6 p.m., Monday through Thursday, and 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Friday. Advanced broadcast students and editors from the Daily 49er student newspaper have 24/7 access to the digital editing room. Other students can access the necessary software during off-‐‑hours at the University’s open computer labs, which can be used until midnight. The Department computer labs are on a four-‐‑year replacement cycle. The Daily 49er, which has a close relationship with the Department although it reports administratively to the Dean’s Office, has 11 computers, while the student magazine has two. There is no TV studio, radio studio or control room in Journalism. The Department recently entered into an agreement with PADNET, the City of Long Beach’s public access television station, which allows students to use its studio. PADNET is about a 10-‐‑ minute drive from campus.

For non-‐‑skills classes, there is a 43-‐‑seat tiered classroom and a 35-‐‑seat classroom, both with overhead digital projectors and smart panels for laptop connections, and a 20-‐‑seat seminar/conference room. All Department classes are taught in its current home except for the unit’s two large classes, which are held in lecture halls elsewhere on campus.

The Department’s new home will have three labs with 25, 24 and 15 computers respectively. Journalism adheres to the ACEJMC standard of a maximum of 20 students in skills classes. Some of the current and future labs have extra computers, which serve as backups in case of technical problems during classes. The renovated space also will have classrooms of 40 seats and 34 seats.

The Department also keeps and maintains a limited amount of mobile equipment that students can check out. Faculty members said the equipment is “enough to get by.” Students, however, said there often is a wait for equipment and sometimes the checked out equipment does not function properly. The unit has five HD broadcast cameras and accompanying kits with microphones and tripods; five HD camcorder kits; five audio digital recorders; 23 Flip video cameras; and 20 still cameras. Most of the equipment can be checked out for 24 hours. The still cameras are used by a single photojournalism class for the full semester. In addition, under the new agreement with PADNET, the Department will receive another HD broadcast camera and have access to its off-‐‑campus digital editing facilities.

Faculty members are housed in private offices with a College-‐‑issued computer and an iPad, which were given to all tenured and tenure-‐‑tracked Department faculty by the University last

36 year.

(e)The institution and the unit provide sufficient library and information resources to support faculty and student research and professional development.

University Library is a full service research facility open daily 7 a.m. to midnight. A librarian assigned 25 percent to the Department has a deep background in journalism, drawing on her 20-‐‑year career at the Los Angeles Times. University Library houses 2,273 journalism and mass communication-‐‑related volumes, 92 journals and 19 databases. The Department does not maintain its own collections.

COMPLIANCE

PART II — Standard 8: Professional and Public Service The unit and its faculty advance journalism and mass communication professions and fulfills obligations to its community, alumni and the greater public.


(a) The unit consults and communicates regularly with its alumni and is actively engaged with its alumni, professionals and professional associations to keep curriculum and teaching, whether on site or online, current and to promote the exchange of ideas.

Communication with alumni is limited. A twice-‐‑yearly online magazine focuses on alumni activities and achievements. The Department also hosts a LinkedIn networking group and hosts alumni mixers. In addition, alumni and media professionals volunteer to guest lecture in journalism classes and host newsroom tours. Many of the adjunct faculty are top-‐‑level local media and public relations professionals.

Faculty members participate in professional organizations, public interest groups and community outreach campaigns. Twice each year, the Department’s Advisory Board meets on campus to discuss issues, trends and curriculum with faculty and students. The board includes local media professionals representing a wide spectrum of media platforms.

(b) The unit provides leadership in the development of high standards of professional practice through such activities as offering continuing education, promoting professional ethics, evaluating professional performance and addressing communications issues of public consequence and concern.

The advisory board and a Department-‐‑sponsored speaker series address standards and ethics. The faculty also attends an annual retreat to share knowledge and new ideas. The Chair and faculty are active in professionally focused organizations. The annual Journalism Day agenda tackles ethics and other challenges in a 21st Century digitally-‐‑driven media environment.

(c)The unit contributes to the improvement of journalism and mass communication as academic disciplines by supporting the faculty’s involvement in academic associations and related activities.

Faculty participate in and attend conferences and workshops with financial support from the Department. Skill-‐‑building and research presentations were conducted by faculty members at the Society of Professional Journalists, Public Relations Society of America and AEJMC events. The Chair has completed professional development in multi-‐‑media training, digital storytelling and blended learning strategies. Faculty members have been recognized for their teaching skills, curricular development and media research. Two faculty members have

38 received the Great Ideas for Teachers award.

On the diversity front, faculty members are affiliated with the Asian American Journalism Association, National Association of Black Journalists, National Gay and Lesbian Journalism Association and National Association of Hispanic Journalists.

(d)The unit contributes to its communities through unit-‐‑based service projects and events, service learning of its students, and civic engagement of its faculty.

Student media and public relations classes have participated in civic engagement projects such as local election debates and have provided strategic support for non-‐‑profit organizations. Faculty and alumni participate in educational events with other campus and community leaders. In addition, faculty members volunteer for a number of public service initiatives, including training of Long Beach youth in digital journalism.

(e)The unit supports scholastic journalism through such activities as faculty workshops, visiting lectures and critiques of student work.

There is a firm and longstanding commitment to support scholastic journalism at the community college and high school levels. Department faculty are active in state, regional and national conventions and workshops. At least two faculty members currently are visiting and hosting high school journalism programs, critiquing school publications and assisting in judging awards programs. Every fall, the Department holds a journalism boot camp with high school advisers and editors who produce student publications.

COMPLIANCE

PART II— Standard 9: Assessment of Learning Outcomes The unit regularly assesses student learning and applies results to improve curriculum and instruction.


(a) The unit defines the goals for learning that students must achieve, including the “Professional Values and Competencies” of this Council.

The Department’s current formal assessment plan defines learning goals based on ACEJMC’s 12 professional competencies. The plan is designed to evaluate student-‐‑learning outcomes and assess whether the Department’s students have mastered those professional values and competencies.

The Department’s assessment plan was developed in two stages. In 2009, the first assessment plan was adopted as part of a formal program review by the University, and the first direct assessments on outcomes of critical thinking, research and statistics were completed the following year. In 2012, the Department updated its plan to include all 12 of ACEJMC’s professional competencies.

(b) The unit has a written assessment plan that uses multiple direct and indirect measures to assess student learning.

Among the direct measures associated with the assessment plan are faculty/alumni evaluation of multimedia projects from seniors and evaluation of “anchor assignments” by a committee composed of journalism professionals and faculty. A written evaluation from internship supervisors and an entry-‐‑exit exam are also part of the plan. Though the self-‐‑study indicated portfolios would be used as an assessment tool, a decision has since been made to hold off on the creation of a portfolio review system.

The indirect measures include an alumni survey administered every three years, student focus groups and tracking of grade distribution.

(c) The unit collects and reports data from its assessment activities and applies the data to improve curriculum and instruction.

The Department has applied results of assessment data in a number of ways. Feedback on writing from direct assessments in 2009 led to the creation of a one-‐‑credit course focused on grammar instruction.

Data collected in 2010 led to a change in the Department’s class on reporting and news gathering. Students now analyze U.S. Census statistics to increase their familiarity with research and statistical methods, and Public Relations students take a research methods course.

Additional data gathered in 2012-‐‑13 led to instructors placing more emphasis on teaching related to student understanding of the criminal justice system in the mass communications law course.

Spring 2013 marked the first time that the student’s multimedia work was assessed in the Senior Seminar course. The evaluation found that projects needed stronger and deeper reporting and improved technical skills. The response seemed well designed for improving the reporting, but no specific changes in support of technical skills were instituted.

(d) The unit maintains contact with its alumni to assess their experiences in the professions and to provide suggestions for improving curriculum and instruction.

A survey of 91 alumni was conducted in fall 2013. Twenty-‐‑one people responded and 14 of those have worked in journalism or public relations at least part of the time since graduation. The sample is too small to use as a significant source of information, but the Department acknowledged that a quarter of respondents said they felt “inadequately prepared” on reporting skills.

This is an area of weakness for the Department. They have had limited formal contact with alumni to date. Going forward, the assessment plan calls for surveys to be conducted every three years.

(e) The unit includes members of journalism and mass communication professions in its assessment process.

Three direct measures associated with the assessment plan rely on feedback from journalism and mass communications professions. The evaluation of multimedia projects from the Department’s seniors and the evaluation of “anchor assignments” in other classes call for committees composed of journalism professionals and faculty. At the time of the self-‐‑study, a local newspaper reporter and a local media lawyer, as well as the University’s journalism librarian (who has a strong professional background) have been involved in formal assessment. Less formal feedback is sought from two local multimedia professionals who work with the Department’s capstone journalism students.

In addition, written evaluations from internship supervisors who are working in the professions are also used to determine assessment outcomes.

A more structured and comprehensive system of incorporating media professionals into assessment would be valuable.

COMPLIANCE

PART III: Summary by site visit team 1) Summarize the strengths and weaknesses of the unit.

The Department of Journalism & Mass Communication is accurately characterized by faculty, students and university leaders as a unit that has historically struggled but is now on a positive trajectory. Much of the credit for the recent success was attributed to the Department Chair, now in his final year of his first three-‐‑year term. The Chair was widely praised for his steady leadership and his strong desire to secure ACEJMC accreditation for the first time in 17 years.

The Department also enjoys strong support from the College and University leadership. Journalism’s budget remained intact over the past six years despite the serious economic downturn and a large enrollment drop. The University leadership, which is highly supportive of the Department’s efforts to secure accreditation, is about to start work on a $6 million renovation project that will take the Department out of its 43-‐‑year home in the basement of a building on the far edge of campus to its own building with state-‐‑of-‐‑the-‐‑art teaching technologies in the center of the active upper campus. Meanwhile, the Dean of the College said it is likely that funding will be provided for two new faculty lines over the next two years.

The close-‐‑knit and collegial atmosphere in the Department is also commendable. Faculty work well together and with the Department Chair. Both the Provost and the Dean noted the lack of any internal strife, something that impeded the Department’s progress in the past. Students regularly meet one-‐‑on-‐‑one with faculty in their offices, and feel close connections to professors.

The Department also has an excellent relationship with the student newspaper. Though administratively separate from Journalism (reporting directly to the College), the Daily 49er is fully embedded in the Department both physically and in the curriculum. Two of the 11 full-‐‑ time faculty members advise the newspaper.

The biggest area of concern found by the site team was around diversity. In many ways, diversity is a strength of the Department, where students of color make up the majority (38 percent Hispanic, 12 percent Asian American and 6 percent African American, plus 3 percent international). Diversity also is infused into the curriculum and course assignments. Students uniformly praise the emphasis on diversity issues in the curriculum and across the Department.

But faculty representation is a concern. The Provost said domestic faculty diversity is a system-‐‑ wide problem, and recently the Chancellor instructed all Cal State campuses to redouble their efforts to recruit ethnically diverse U.S. candidates. At Journalism, the site team had concerns that some remedies were implemented late in the process due to the upcoming accreditation

43 team visit. For instance, a part-‐‑time African American instructor was made a “full-‐‑time faculty

equivalent” (one-‐‑year contract) for this year, though Department and College leaders said they are committed to retaining her long term. For adjunct faculty, the self-‐‑study reported that “the Department has worked this past year (emphasis added) to increase the number of ethnic minorities” (the unit is constrained in part by union protections of part-‐‑time faculty; nevertheless, the record for adjunct faculty diversity is weak). And a moribund student chapter of the National Association of Hispanic Journalists was reconstituted just months before the site visit. The self-‐‑study also compared Journalism’s faculty diversity not to its service area, but instead to the ASNE annual newsroom census. The site team strongly believes that those newspaper diversity numbers, universally considered a reflection of one of the industry’s greatest failures over the past 30-‐‑plus years, should never be held as a standard to achieve for any journalism program.

The site team notes that the full-‐‑time faculty has four international professors, including two from Brazil, and students feel strongly that diversity and cultural sensitivity permeates the Department. While the diverse student population, curriculum and students’ positive feeling about diversity at the Department led to our recommendation of compliance, this should be an area of focus over the next six years and a topic to be explored deeply by the next site team in 2020.

Students and faculty also expressed some concern over the curriculum. While the flexibility is admirable, professionals, students and some faculty expressed concern that students could leave the program without sufficient digital media skills.

The Department also has some administrative gaps. For instance, the self-‐‑study reports that graduating students were in 100 percent compliance in both 2011-‐‑12 and 2012-‐‑13 for taking at least 80 credit hours outside of the major, but the Chair said that is not checked and there is no way to know if indeed they are in full compliance (a spot check by the site team did not find any problems).

Finally, the Department’s non-‐‑salary operating budget is tiny (less than 2 percent of the overall), and its fund-‐‑raising efforts nascent. That greatly limits the unit’s ability to purchase mobile news gathering equipment, sponsor events, travel, and research and engage in pro-‐‑ active outreach to alumni, the professions and other key constituency groups.

2) List the standards with which the unit is not in compliance. N/A 3) Summarize the problems or deficiencies that must be corrected before the next evaluation (i.e., related to non-‐‑compliance with standards). N/A

44 4) In the case of a recommendation for provisional accreditation, list the deficiencies that must

be corrected before the provisional status can be removed. N/A

5) In the case of a recommendation for denial of accreditation, clearly and fully explain the reasons that led to the recommendation. N/A

6) If the unit was previously accredited, summarize the significant deficiencies noted in the previous report and the actions taken to correct them. If the unit was in noncompliance in the same standard(s) on the previous two visits, identify the standard(s) and the problems noted. Explain actions taken to correct the problems. N/A

7) The self-‐‑study is the heart of the accrediting process, and often the quality of that document determines the degree of success of the accrediting visit. Summarize the team members’ judgment of the self-‐‑study.

The self-‐‑study was clearly written and presented, but in some areas lacked facts and data to back up certain assertions.

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